Airline stock were broadly lower Monday, as the industry braced for two more hurricanes. The sector's weakness was enough to push the Dow Jones Transportation Average into negative territory despite a rally in other broader market indexes. Among the Dow transports airline components, shares of Alaska Air Group Inc. shed 2.7%, United Continental Holdings Inc. lost 1.9%, American Airlines Group Inc. fell 1.3%, Southwest Airlines Co. gave up 1.1%, Jet Blue Airways Corp. dropped 1.0% and Delta Air Lines Inc. slipped 0.4%. The combined price declines shaved about 30 points off the Dow transports, which was down 21 points. Hurricane Jose was expected to bring heavy rains and strong winds to the northeast, while Hurricane Maria is expected to strengthen to at least a Category 3 when it hits the Caribbean by midweek. That would come just about two weeks after Hurricane Irma hit the region and about three weeks after Hurricane Harvey made landfall. The NYSE Arca Airline Index slumped 1.2%, while the Dow transports slipped 0.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 81 points (0.4%) and the S&P 500 tacked on 0.3%.

The airline sector took a hit Friday, after J.P. Morgan downgraded some key players on concerns that rising fuel prices and continued pricing weakness make current earnings expectations unachievable. Shares of United Continental Holdings Inc. dropped 3.0%, Spirit Airlines Inc. fell 2.4% and American Airlines Group Inc. shed 0.8%, after analyst Jamie Baker downgraded all three air carriers to neutral from overweight. Elsewhere, shares of Alaska Air Group Inc. lost 2.7% and Delta Air Lines Inc. eased 0.2%. Bucking the trend, Southwest Airlines Co.'s stock , inched up less than 0.1%, after Baker upgraded the carrier to overweight from neutral, saying the recent selloff--down 15% over the past two months--makes the risk-versus-reward profile attractive for investors. JetBlue Airways Corp.'s stock tacked on 0.1%, after Baker raised his price target to $29 from $26, citing easier unit revenue comparisons and moderated capacity growth. The NYSE Arca Airline Index fell 0.7%. The sector tracker has shed 6.1% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.7%.

American Airlines downgraded to neutral from overweight at J.P. Morgan

American Airlines Group Inc. said flights canceled due to Hurricane Irma will weigh on its earnings in the third quarter. The nation's top airline by traffic said Tuesday that its unit revenue will expand up to 1% in the quarter compared with earlier expectations for as much as a 2.5% rise year-over-year.

United Continental Holdings Inc. said fallout from Hurricane Harvey and a fare war will hurt its third-quarter earnings, the latest airline dragged down by pressures facing most U.S. carriers. United's shares dropped more than 4% on Wednesday after the airline said unit revenue could fall by up to 5% in the quarter.

Stewart International Airport is on track to record a 45% increase in passengers this year reversing a decade of decline. The former U.S. Air Force Base, which sits 60 miles north of New York City, is reviving.

British low-cost airline easyJet will start offering connecting flights in Europe paired with two budget long-haul carriers to and from the U.S., expanding the trans-Atlantic options for cost-conscious travelers.

Airlines capped prices on tickets departing from much of Florida and the Caribbean, after customers complained that seats on the few flights that remained ahead of Hurricane Irma were far more expensive than usual.

The requirement doesn’t carry a risk of a financial penalty for failure to disclose, but it exposes a company to potential reputation damage, a risk that is likely to prod them into action to tackle the pay gap, said governance and employment specialists.

Emirates Airline may fully restore capacity on flights to the U.S. in the coming months with demand recovering after Washington sought to limit immigration from some Middle East countries and imposed a ban on use of electronics on inbound flights.

Hurricane Irma walloped several islands in the northeast Caribbean, killing at least nine people and flattening swaths of the island of Barbuda, while officials in Florida pressed thousands of residents to evacuate ahead of a possible landfall.

Airlines are canceling flights in the Caribbean and offering waivers to passengers in Florida as Hurricane Irma picks up speed and intensity, disrupting air travel in the region for the second time in a month.

Stocks were looking for direction on Wednesday, but this after the major indexes have all hit fresh all-time highs. The one trend that has dominated this bull market is that investors keep finding new reasons to buy stocks after every sell-off. Those same investors are looking for new investing and trading ideas to generate gains [ ]

American Airlines Honors JFK Team Member Al Blackman for 75 Years of Service With Dedication of Boeing 777-200

Jul. 18, 2017 at 2:07 p.m. ET

on GlobeNewswire

American Airlines Group Inc.

American Airlines Group, Inc. is a holding company whose business activity is the operation of a network carrier through its principal wholly-owned mainline operating subsidiary, American. The company provides air transportation for passengers and cargo. It cargo division provides a range of freight and mail services, with facilities and interline connections available across the globe. The company was founded on December 9, 2013 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, TX.
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